25 Oct 2023

Rugby League in New Zealand: From exclusion to corporate sponsorship

From Nights, 9:08 pm on 25 October 2023

Rugby League in New Zealand has long played second fiddle to it's bigger cousin Rugby Union.

But ever since the game was first introduced to our shores over 115 years ago it has weaved itself into the fabric of communities across Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Ryan Bodman has spent the past 8 years research, writing and thinking about Rugby League's impact on social movements and working class culture.

From Carlaw Park to the West Coast he uncovers the deep-rooted connections between rugby
league’s development and the evolving cultural fabric of New Zealand.

Bodman's book Rugby League in New Zealand: A People's History has just been released and he talks to Mark Leishman about the process of writing and what he found.